The Dutch second division is planning on tearing up the football hand-book as they look to trial a raft of dramatic new changes to some of the game's rules.The KNVB will be looking into five new changes with throw-ins, yellow cards, free kicks, substitutions and playing time all set for a significant shake-up.There has been the odd murmur here and there with regards to some of the current rules of the game, with former referee Mark Clattenburg recently tabling the idea of 30-minute halves.Speaking after Manchester City were bundled out of the Champions League by Real Madrid, Clattenburg said:“I think there’s a solution to all of this and that’s 60-minute matches with a stop-clock – an idea which Pierluigi Collina, FIFA and IFAB are currently looking at. It works in basketball and it could work in football, too. “The clock is paused when the ball goes out of play, for example, or there’s an injury causing a delay, or a referee is issuing a yellow card and dishing out a talking-to."
BURNLEY, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 08: Match referee Mike Dean shows a yellow card to Josh Brownhill of Burnley (not pictured) during the Premier League match between Burnley and Manchester United at Turf Moor on February 08, 2022 in Burnley, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)Now it seems this very idea, among others, is to go under trial in the Netherlands.So how else to they plan to shake up the game we know and love? In his column on the official KNVB website, Jan Dirk van der Zee explained the changes.
Throwing in becomes 'kicking in'
Players would be allowed to pass with their feet or even shoot when the ball goes over the sideline.
Dribbling from a free-kick
In an effort to avoid inevitable time-wasting from fouls, players will be allowed to self-pass and dribble on their merry way from a free-kick situation.
This is expected to help keep up the speed of the game and eliminate a problem that sees 11% of game time go swirling down the drain.
Time Penalty for yellow cards
Taking a leaf out of rugby's book, guilty players will be sent from the field for five minutes following the showing of a yellow card.
Unlimited substitutions
Possibly the most wild of the lot, team will employ a 'flying substitutions model' allowing them to make unlimited switches over the course of a game.
'Pure' playing time
Finally, Clattenburg's suggestion will undergo rigorous testing after it was discovered that the average Champions league game only consists of 60 minutes of 'pure' playing time.
While this project is not quite set in stone, the trials are believed to be planned for the 2023/24 season.
Van der Zee, the director of amateur football within the KNVB, hopes the changes will make the game “faster, sportier, fairer and more attractiveâ€.